Blood Promise
by JeromeSankara
Summary: When a silent killer is stalking the vampire ranks one by one in Cross Academy, the secret seems to lie within Zero as the connections grow tighter. Decisions will be made, consequences will be deadly, and the ones left standing will have to unite to defeat the unknown enemy. (YAOI) (Zero x Kaname)
1. Prologue

Prologue

_2 years ago_

_R__ain poured down from the_ skies, soaking the ground endlessly. Thunder boomed with all its fury, nearly shaking the earth with it. Lightening crackled, the dark clouds rolled… But none of it affected the man that walked silently through the drenching rain.

His white hair was plastered down to his head, and the long overcoat he had been wearing proved as little resistance to the rain as the water drained down its soaked fabric. Another stroke of lightening flashed across the sky, shattering the calmness that the rain had nearly brought.

But the turmoil outside the young man was nothing compared to what he felt like on the inside…

Balanced gently in his arms was a body. The face was the mirror image of his own, but the eyes were closed. The skin was turning into a sickly gray and the rain was soon washing away the blood that had covered his neck.

"…Ichiru…"

The dead man's name was nearly lost in the howling wind and the crackling thunder as his brother, Zero, moaned his name aloud. Grief tore its way into his strained voice, even as he could still taste his brother's blood in his mouth, stinging him like acid straight into his heart.

He was gone… And he was gone forever…

All because of him.

The living twin's feet slid in the growing mud as he tried to force his trembling feet to walk, but they may not obey him for much longer. But he had to keep going… He was nearly there.

_"__Take what remains of my life…"_

_"__Do what I cannot…"_

The words echoed in Zero's head like a sick chorus that refused to give him a moment of silence. They poured over and over in his head… They had been some of the last words that his brother had spoken to him while his warm blood had soaked into his clothing.

The twin that had always held Ichiru so closely against his own body had felt the life slowly seep out of him. He had stolen his brother's life…

And for what?

Nothing… Nothing but to grant Ichiru's final wish to finally be whole with his brother.

Amethyst eyes dulled from pain eventually gazed through the sheets of rain to the gates ahead. Large iron gates stood solemnly before him, nearly hovering over the man that stood before them. This was where Ichiru's final resting place would be… Right beside their parents in the cemetery of the hunters.

The chain that linked the gates together snapped underneath the strong hunter's hand, posing as little restraint to him and his goal. Ichiru's cooling body barely stirred, still laying limp against his chest and soaking his body with blood.

The wound Rido had dealt him barely bled… It was because there was nearly no blood left in Ichiru's body to bleed out any longer. The fang wounds in Ichiru's neck were still open, yet there would be no blood to leak out.

There was nothing left of his brother but a body… and the faintest smile on his corpse. It was a look of peace of finally receiving what his body had ached for him to do ever since their conception. They were finally together…

But as Zero's steps began to lead him through the cemetery as he walked the now-familiar trek back to his family's plot, the ache in his heart wasn't solved by that thought…

He wanted his brother back by his side, not lying dead in his arms. It wasn't worth the pain… the agony of what he had to go through to give Ichiru his final wish…

The peace on his brother's face mocked him… He would never know that peace. Not when Ichiru's stolen life flowed through his veins. Not when his heart ached with the fact that he was now his brother's murderer.

Eventually Zero pushed his way through the pouring rain and managed to find his family plot. 'Kiryuu' was etched onto a large memorial stone that stood over three separate graves.

One of the headstones was marked with a few letters. _'Sakura Izumi Kiryuu. Mother and Loving Wife.' _The other was marked as well, with just as many words. _'Kyoko Xavier Kiryuu. Father and Protector.'_

Underneath those two graves was an unused grave, with nothing left on the headstone. This was one that had been intended to hold Ichiru's body seventeen years ago, when he was born… He had not been intended to live past birth, if he would even be able to take his first breath in the first place. But Ichiru had defied the odds… until now.

Now, the stone coffin was waiting for Ichiru's body like it had all of those years ago…

Carefully, gently, Zero shifted Ichiru's body down onto the ground. The living hunter slipped his jacket off of his shoulders and laid it down onto his brother's body in a vain attempt to keep the water off of him. Ichiru's head rolled lifelessly to the side, the fang marks open and revealed for all to see…

The guilt bit into Zero just as savagely as before, but he forced himself to resume his work. He could only do one more thing for Ichiru… he was going to make sure that nothing distracted him from his work.

Zero's hands soon clenched into the stone cover, his muscles straining to lift the stone. At first, it barely budged. Dread poured over his body as he tried to force the stone again. What if he couldn't move the stone? What if he had to dump Ichiru's body somewhere and leave him for the animals to pick off of his bones?

…He wouldn't allow it.

His teeth gritted together as he tried one last time to push the stone off of his brother's empty grave, using every ounce of strength his body could hold, before it creaked its way away from the opening. It was a small opening… but it would be just enough for Ichiru to slide through.

The amethyst eyes stared into the open hole, staring into the cobwebs that had gathered in the corners… This would be Ichiru's new home. This would be the place that he had sent him to.

A sickness crawled up his throat at the thought of his brother's body decaying in this dank and dark hole, but he pushed it away. He looked back to the body that rested silently, the rain beating into his skin, before he soon began to pull him back over.

Ichiru's gray skin glistened with the rainwater that was mixed with the blood that was still plastered onto his neck. That blood soon started to drain down into the soil, sending a soft array of reds to soak into the earth. But he pulled his brother's body over to the grave, and once again looked down into the hole.

He quietly brushed away a few sticky cobwebs and pushed the stone cover just a little farther to give himself some more room and looked back to his brother's body, the amethyst eyes lingering on his face. …How could he be so peaceful, while knowing that his brother was his murder…

A hollow emptiness sucked up his emotions like a black hole, leaving numbness in its place. He stared at his brother before slowly pulling him one last time into his arms, feeling his body rest limply against his chest. Zero nearly begged to feel the warmth of his brother's body… to hear his voice, to see his amethyst eyes, even if he would hate him for wanting such a thing…

But his eyes would remain closed.

His chest will never again rise with breath, his lips will never move to form words. His fingers clenched into the coat he had draped over the cold body as grief ate into his soul as he tightly pulled Ichiru to his chest, a tear soon sliding down his cheek, easily concealed through the rain.

Zero didn't know how long he sat there… Pouring rain pounded into his body, but it barely made a difference as he protected his dear brother's body from the onslaught. His hand slowly touched the soaked silver hairs, running his fingertips through the strands just like when they were little…

But those days… were long over.

It took every single ounce of will in his body to untuck his cold brother from his body, and began to slide him down into that horrid hole in the ground. He carefully slid his legs in first, then his torso, then the rest of him. His brother crossed his arms over his chest, and wiped away a few stray strands of hair from his face.

The eyes were closed, and would never open again… Zero took one last look at Ichiru's look of peace on his face, then quietly pulled the lid over the sunken grave. Shadows soon overcame the body until it was soon sealed away from sight, and from ever being seen again.

…He was gone. Gone for eternity. Never again would Zero be able to see his brother, even if he had begun to hate him to the very end… But also… never again was he going to suffer through sickness and wishing to finally be joined with Zero like they had been supposed to be at conception. He would never have to suffer the slow descent through his poor health, to suffer a slow and painful death… Zero refused to let his brother suffer…

And he refused… to let Ichiru, his other half, die in vain, and to die without vengeance over his life.

A slight prick to his finger was all it took to let blood dribble down from the small hole. He knelt down beside the grave and began to write the name of the deceased on the stone… A final reminder of the life that had tried so desperately to live.

_'__Ichiru Riku Kiryuu_

_October 24, 1992 – October 24, 2010_

_Beloved Brother, Companion, and the Perfect Half'_

"…Happy birthday, Ichiru. …I finally gave you what you wanted your entire life," the hunter spoke softly, nearly drowned out through the rain as the lettering was already starting to smear, but it made no difference. No matter how hard the rain fell, nothing will make him forget… And now was the time for revenge.

With taking one last look at the blood-spotted grave, Zero calmly turned on his heels and started the long walk back towards Cross Academy. Held tightly in his hand was his Bloody Rose…

This… was the beginning of the fight to the death.


	2. Revenge

Chapter 1

_Now._

_'…__I__had hoped it might have taken more time than this, or at least a hell lot more exciting.'_

A pale hand brushed through the destroyed crystals, a few traces of blood still on his fingertips, but his thoughts were still numb… Two years of planning, of training to take down one of the most powerful vampires the world has ever seen… and it was over in maybe a few precious moments.

Now if only Yuuki had been willing to fight harder against him…

Eventually he picked out a single crystal, observing his reflection in the crystal. He saw the hardened eyes, the coldness that took over his body ever since the blackness had begun to pool into his heart all those years ago from one single bite of a pureblood… The crystal was soon tossed back down into the pile.

It had only taken a bullet to destroy the pureblood, something that made his heart sink in disappointment. Still gripped in his hand was the murder weapon… Bloody Rose. The elegant writing inscribed in the side hid the deadly sins that the weapon has been responsible of for years.

Wind beat around the hunter as he kicked a crystal away with his foot, watching it clatter away before breaking apart. A thought prodded through his head, wondering just why the pureblood wished to die…

No amount of prodding convinced her to try to fight for her life, to fight against the hunter that she had once loved, and that he had once told her that he loved as well. But those feelings had hardened away along with the rest of his heart…

Leaves rustled against each other through the cold night autumn air, and a few were already beginning to drift down from their perch. The amethyst eyes slowly looked up, staring up at the stars that littered the night sky, sometimes shadowed away by a storm cloud. Maybe his departed brother's spirit was with those stars… The presence of his brother's spirit had perished a few months ago, leading to the hope that his brother was finally at peace.

"…Ichiru, do you see it now? It's nearly over…" he murmured to the stars, as if hoping that his brother's voice would once again echo in his head… But there was no answer. His brother was as silent as the stars…

Droplets of rain were quick to start to trickle down from the skies, beginning to splash against the crystals that were scattered across the ground. The rain dripped down onto Zero's skin, delicately wiping away the small splashes of blood on his pale skin. No one would ever discover the murder… Or at least they would be unable to place the blame on him.

The clouds began to clot out the brilliant stars, leaving nothing but the falling rain to be the response for his words. It always rained on this day… October 24th. The day of their birth, the day of their parents' deaths… and the day that he had sucked out the life of his own brother. Every birthday was shadowed with rain ever since their birth, and it has since.

Zero casted his glance to the pile of crystals that still lingered, sparkling faintly as the rain coated them, before bluntly turning away. He needed to get back to the academy before anyone realized what had happened and found that the Kuran 'queen' was missing.

His steps sloshed in the growing mud as his hand slid the revolver into its holster. One hunting assignment done… and there was one more to go. This one would prove much more dangerous than anything Yuuki could have done… but was far more important to kill.

Kaname Kuran.

Zero's hand tightened on the gun's handle still held in the holster, and his eyes tightened at the thought of killing the last Kuran pureblood. He was the cause of all of this happening… Yuuki had simply been a pawn, and so had Zero. Killing the pureblood was going to prove a much harder challenge…

One… would be because of his loyal subjects that surrounded him. But Kaname was soon going to become his prey.

A twig snapping beside him made Zero stop in his steps. His senses heightened at the prospect of someone being around him, possibly trying to threaten his hunting mission… His amethyst eyes scanned through the thickening darkness in the possibility of finding his pursuer, but he found no one within sight…

The hunter took in a deep breath to try to find the scent of whoever had broken the stick, but the rain drowned out the scent before he could find just whom it was. _'Damn…'_ the thought crossed his mind just as his hand slowly grasped his gun again, preparing to take aim and whoever was idiotic enough to follow him…

A whirl of moment rushed through the shadows, giving the hunter little time to react, but he only needed a heartbeat to dart out of the direct danger. A distinct scent poured through his lips, one that he could diagnose easily…

Vampire.

He could feel the eyes of the creatures scorning into him, and he could see the soft flickers of the light in their eyes through the darkness. Each were tight with hatred and anger, but no fear stirred inside the hardened hunter. This was only going to be another challenge… Another fight added to his record.

_"__Murderer!"_ a screech sounded as footsteps rushed up from behind Zero, but he only had to step to the side to avoid the attack. A man rushed just past him, enough for the hunter to feel the breeze of the attack, before he turned to stare back at him. Hanabusa Aidou…

The cold blue eyes sharpened like ice and glinted coldly with malice. Pain crackled in the ice as well before it was completely replaced by fury. The first attacker soon stood beside Aidou, the emerald eyes sharp as they stared through Zero like daggers. A katana was held tightly in his grip as Takuma's usually kind and peaceful exterior broke apart into something close to the monster he always believed was lingering underneath.

The others were soon circling around him, giving no chance of escape… But who said anything about Zero wanting to escape? A smug smirk crossed Zero's face as he stared into the eyes of the people around him, each of the eyes holding anger and betrayal. He cocked the weapon in his hand, flicking off the safety easily while his finger soon lingered on the trigger.

"…What are you waiting for?" Zero muttered darkly, no emotion in his eyes other than the thirst for a good fight. He watched as each of the vampires' lips peeled back, exposing their fangs with a harsh hiss. All of this for one ass of a pureblood…? …This could be more interesting than killing Yuuki herself.

The first to spring at him was Hanabusa, and a spear of ice soon jutted out of his hand. Zero readied his weapon before the ice collided against the metal, blocking the sharpened tip from jutting into his body. At the same moment, almost like a wave crying for blood, the owner of the eyes in the shadows suddenly gushed in. Their battle cries shook the earth itself as they stormed down into the clearing, each of their cries howling for Zero's spilt blood.

The bloodthirsty vampires swarmed over Zero's body, their teeth snapping like wild dogs clawing for their scrap of meat. The hunter could feel claws cutting through his skin, hear the curses snarled through their fanged lips, but he refused to be beaten so easily…

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. The vampires all stiffened, fear claiming their faces for a split second as their attacks stopped just long enough for Zero… All at once, metallic tendrils wrapped around each of their bodies, lifting them up and away from the hunter. Thorns cut through their clothing grating into their flesh slowly and painfully…

The vines of thorns whipped around, striking out at an unseen enemy, while their master stood in the thickest, that cold smirk still present on his face. The gun that had been tightly gripped in his hand now was a tangled snare of thorns, the thorns thrust out from the veins in his body while Zero's amethyst eyes stared up at his prey.

Akatsuki, Ruka, Rima, Shiki, Aidou, and Takuma… All of them had come to kill the hunter, but now they were all trapped within the hunter's grasp. The vines lifted them farther into the air, holding them like the hunter's caught prey. They squirmed within the grasp of the vines, each desperately trying to unhook themselves, but with no avail.

"Y-you coward!" Akatsuki snarled as his fiery eyes stared down at Zero, the flames that was beginning to spread from his fingertips. The fire from the vampire was beginning to travel down the vines, scorching them until they were blackened and brittle. Soft crimson droplets seeped from the cracks, dripping out Zero's blood as if it was his own.

The pain traveled quickly through the thorns, yet Zero refused to give way. When one vine would break apart, another would stretch out of the remains and wrap itself back around its victim. The cold smirk on his face only grew as a wave of curses came from the trapped vampires, but soon the hunter decided that he would silence their curses…

The vines suddenly whipped to the side, pulling the vampires along with, before slamming straight down into the ground. It was more than enough to silence their words… But Zero wanted more. He wanted them to suffer… The smirk only grew wider as the vines lifted up again, but then whipped them down, this time harder.

He could feel their vain struggles… Rima was attempting to shock him through the vines, Akatsuki couldn't stop using his fire, and whatever ice Aidou had been gathering to throw at Zero was broken with every throw. But with every struggle, the vines only tightened like a python, squeezing their prey… Venom seeped out from the thorns, injecting themselves into the cuts.

Bloody Rose was an anti-vampire weapon for a reason… Soon, the anti-vampire venom would be rushing through their veins… If it didn't kill them through an achingly slow few hours, then it would leave enough agony to immobilize them to deal the final blow.

A sudden piercing pain yanked onto Zero through his thorned metallic vines and he looked up to see Takuma's sharpened katana slicing through the vines as if they were merely paper. Blood sprayed out of the multitude of vines in a grizzly display, splattering against the vampire's cheek but the blond vampire did not slow down.

Takuma continued to cut away at the throng of thorns until the thorns unconsciously whipped away to escape from taking in any more of the pain from the abuse. They dropped the strong vampire to the ground and raced back into their master's body, much to his extreme annoyance.

But Aidou was also creating trouble… Ice was traveling down the whipping vines, all the way towards the gun, before beginning to clutch onto the vines that held the other vampires. The ice crackled, only growing stronger. Zero's vines whipped only harder, trying to break their bonds, but it was no use. The ice soon claimed onto his gun, freezing his hand to the weapon but not allowing his finger to touch the trigger to fire off a shot.

"Disgusting hunter!" Takuma's snarl reminded the hunter of his freed prey before he saw his form hurtling towards him. The bloody blade lifted up, and Zero immediately pulled up his frozen gun to block the hit. The blade smashed straight into the ice… But cut through.

Blood splattered out from the metallic vines as the sharpened katana cut straight through the ice, then through the vines, severing them and destroying their binds on the other vampires. The sudden rush of blood left Zero nearly staggering with weakness while the vines desperately tried to mend themselves, but the blood only pumped harder out of the tendrils.

Trying to seek safety, the vines soon rushed straight back into the gun, abandoning their master when he needed them most while ripping themselves free from Zero's body. But the pain of the ripping did nothing to detour one thought… …He was defenseless.

His amethyst eyes glanced up just to see Takuma raise his sword again before swinging it down, aiming to decapitate him and end this fight once and for all. The hunter staggered back a step, but he couldn't escape injury… The sword bit into his flesh, tearing open a line in his chest and forcing blood to rush out of the wound.

The hunter could only grit his teeth together in pain as the blood pumped out before he raised his gun at Takuma. He aimed for his head and moved his finger to press on the trigger…

But ice soon stabbed straight through his arm as he raised it up, the crimson blood covering the tip as it breached on the other side.

Zero couldn't hold back the hiss of pain as his hand loosened on the gun, but he refused to release his hold. If living as a hunter had taught him anything… Never allow the enemy to get a hold of your gun. Even for a moment, it meant death. …But…

Zero wasn't afraid of death, anymore. He was faced with an eternity of hunting humans and vampires alike. And now that he had murdered a pureblood, he would be hunted as well. But all of that was nothing compared to the guilt he still carried in his heart over the death of his twin and his parents, the guilt perched on his shoulders and constantly weighing him down…

Now, death meant nothing to a man that will live for an eternity, waiting to die.

He forced his grip on his gun to remain, even as he was starting to lose the stretch to keep it in his hand. His finger desperately sought the trigger even as he lowered his gun, taking precious moments to try to pull the ice out of his arm so he could shoot properly…

A heavy weight suddenly slammed into his side, nearly knocking him off of his feet, while a rough growl echoed in his ear. "You don't deserve to live, Kiryuu…" The rough voice was enough for him to recognize Akatsuki, as if the flames that were beginning to snap at his clothing wasn't enough of a hint.

The flames scalded on his skin while the orange colors reached up to try to grasp his face as if wishing to do more harm than it already was. A hiss slipped out of his lips as he attempted to beat out a flame that clutched his wounded chest, but he wouldn't have the chance to fully destroy it…

Another spear of ice thrust itself into his body, this time cutting it into his stomach. A wave of blood bubbled around the edges and stained the clear crystal, sending spasms of pain aching through his body. "Are you afraid, Kiryuu…?" the mocking voice came from Aidou as Zero forced his eyes up to see where his opponent was.

They were all surrounding him… Each were poised and ready to strike the beaten hunter down, even if each were still stinging from the venom of the Bloody Rose. Aidou stood in front of him, that smug smirk on his face but his gaze still filled with anger.

"You killed Yuuki… It's only fair that your life is the payment for hers," Aidou hissed, his ice blue eyes lighting in a deadly fire, before he sprang forward. The ice vampire's hands were outstretched… And they were reaching for his gun.

Zero let out a hiss and pulled his gun back to his side before reaching out to throw a punch across Aidou's face. Hands suddenly grabbed onto his arm, though, forcing it back from striking the vampire. His amethyst eyes flashed to the side, and saw Akatsuki and Rima grabbing onto his arm, a hiss peeling from their lips.

Ruka and Shiki were soon holding him back by the shoulders, refusing to let the hunter move even for a moment. Their glares sank deep into his skin while Takuma soon shoved his katana against his throat, the blade pressed against the skin. A thin trickle of blood slipped from the shallow slice, easing down his paling skin.

The hunter fought against their grips, a snarl cutting through his throat as he commanded them to let him go, but their grips only tightened as their claws hooked into his flesh. Then he felt someone grabbing onto his arm, already trying to wrench his wrist to break it and release his hold on his gun.

His gun… If they managed to get a hold of it and could just fire off a single shot, he would be finished.

Zero yanked on his own arm, attempting to pull it out of Aidou's grip, but the vampires only tried harder to control him. It took six vampires to try to keep him down… but they were already beginning to fail.

But what was also beginning to fail was his strength… Blood spilt slowly down the ice crystals in his stomach and his arm, gathering on the sharpened tip before dripping off and falling to the ground. Too much blood had already been spilt…

It soaked his shirt and only continued to drain out of his multitude of wounds. And with every drop of blood that spilt, his strength was soon draining with it. The rain poured harder, soaking his body and forcing water into the delicate cuts with nothing to be able to protect them, but he had much bigger things to worry about than a small sting…

He could feel his wrist starting to break under Aidou's constant pulling and his hardened grip, yet he tried to fight back… Until he heard a sharp snap. A grin crossed Aidou's face as he stared down at Zero's bent wrist, and saw the fingers loosening on the gun. That had been the exact moment he was waiting for…

Aidou's hands wrapped around the gun and prepared to yank it free from his grip, even as electricity from the anti-vampire weapon shocked into his hand. The hunter tried in vain to pull it back, trying to tuck it to his chest just out of reach, but Aidou only growled… "Why are you fighting, you monster!"

…Why was he fighting.

The words numbed his body as he could only stare at Aidou, while his mind span with words he wanted to retort back at him, but he found that none of them would come out.

…There was no reason for him to fight any longer. All he was, was a beast. A disgusting vampire, one of them… All he would be is prey to other hunters or vampires if the Night class would allow him to leave.

It might be better to die this way… than to wander in eternity waiting for someone to kill him.

The slow smirk crossed his face, with no emotion coming from him but the coldness that came that he was handing over his life to Aidou. The fingers began to loosen before they slipped away, letting his beloved weapon fall to the rain-soaked ground.

Zero already accepted his fate the moment he released his gun.

The surprise that cross Aidou's face nearly made his smirk grow larger, but he quickly scooped up the weapon. The sparks that flew into Aidou's hand once he touched it didn't detour the vampire from taking his revenge. His glare instead stayed on Zero's face as he lifted the weapon and pressed the barrel of the gun against Zero's chest, right by his heart.

"…Don't miss," Zero mocked as his cold amethyst eyes narrowed at the vampire as he awaited his execution. Aidou wasn't about to let him get out alive… but Zero wasn't about to beg for mercy. All he wanted now… was silence. There would be no after life to spend with loved ones for a creature like him. Not after the murder of two purebloods, more than a handful of vampires, not even including the murder of his brother and parents.

…No. He'll have an eternity of silence, perfect for a beast like him.

The hands tightened on his shoulders and arms as the vampires refused to let him slip away, while he could feel Takuma's katana cut deeper into his neck. It wouldn't be long now… The hunter's head raised slightly in defiance, his amethyst eyes closing to allow the darkness to fill his head as he awaited his death… until a voice cut through the silence.

"Zero, no!"

_'…__Ichiru…?_ The only thought that raced through his mind as his eyes flashed open. His aching muscles quickly strained against his captors as he tried to fight out to see where the sound came from as he turned towards the sound just in time for…

_…__Bang._

…And then silence. Pure, blissful silence.

The silence as his legs buckled underneath him, a slow blossom of bright red spreading through his already-stained shirt.

The silence as the vampires released him in disgust, while splashes of the crimson red stained Aidou's cheek.

Silence… even as arms reached out to catch him before he hit the ground, but failing to reach him in time. Amethyst eyes stared back at his own, bringing a soft smile to the falling man.

Ichiru…

He could see his faint silhouette, the body nearly too faint to see… The longer white hair, the amethyst a direct copy of his own…

…Ichiru was going to take him home.

His body collapsed in a small heap, but he didn't feel the pain. The dulling amethyst eyes simply stared straight forward to allow him to see just what they would do to his body. The sticky blood that drained from the wound began to grow into a pool, his life's blood allowing his life to ebb away from him slowly…

Feeling was ebbing away along with his blood as it spread out beneath him. He saw Aidou release the Bloody Rose with a look of disgust over his face, while the others were soon starting to depart to nurse their wounds. One muttered out that it would take time for him to die… And that they would come back to bury the ashes later…

But Zero didn't care any longer about what they did to his body… Zero's eyes slowly closed as warm blood seeped underneath him, but all that was on his mind was Ichiru. His beloved twin…

They were finally going to be together. As he felt his life slipping from his fingertips, and the darkness pooling into his mind, all he could picture was that last moment when he held Ichiru in his arms… one last time…

Together…

…Forever.


	3. Behind the Truth

Chapter 2

_C__rack…_

A chess piece shattered on the priceless board, the white fragments of the queen piece soon scattered across the platform. A sharp pair of ruby eyes flicked down to the piece with a calm glimmer resting in the gaze. The white piece only crackled more underneath his gaze before fully disintegrating.

The ruby eyes soon looked back to the window, and the vampire could already taste the scent of blood in the air… It had finally begun.

But his eyes instead stared through the partially open window, allowing the scent of the rain and of the freshly-spilt blood to flood into his room. The rain delicately tapped the glass, less violent than the downpour that had happened moments ago. The skies were clouded completely over, blocking out the starry skies. Dark chocolate hair flowed down to his shoulders, delicately framing his pale face.

His fingers tapped his bottom lip in thought, unknowing what to do as he breathed in the two scents of blood. The vampire could only watch as the silhouettes of six people dragged their bodies to the entrance of the magnificent Moon dorms, but he could see the solemn look on their faces, each of them dreading their leader's reaction to what he already knew…

The slender hands touched the curtain before tugging the curtains closed, quickly consuming the room into darkness. His gaze rested back on the chess pieces and picked up the black king that had been standing beside its white queen, now destroyed. Things will soon start to change… And all it took was the bullet from a hunter.

The gaze soon drifted to the board and surveyed his pieces. There were seven black pieces remaining… They were scattered across the board, but each were surrounding a white knight. The black pieces were protecting their king…

The white knight stood alone, just as it had most of its life…

Zero…

He had constantly been battling the black pieces, and battling the blackness that had started to consume his heart. The hunter had spent a thousand lifetimes worth of pain, suffering and guilt. Even his birth went against all the rules of the life. He had been a forbidden life, one that shouldn't have been created at all.

The lone vampire quietly crossed his lonely room, not a life stirring other than himself. The pain fingers rolled the chess piece between his fingertips, back and forth, his claws sometimes clicking against the priceless porcelain. Each piece was important in this game of life…

A king cannot rule alone. A pawn needs a person to guard. The lowest rank guards the highest power.

Meaning… Apart, they were weak and defenseless

Together, there was hope for survival.

A thought softly whispered in his mind, feeding him with an abundance of possibilities. He listened, but he soon turned back towards his desk. There was still something that needed to be solved…

The crimson eyes spotted the folded slip of paper that had been left on his desk that morning, the same that still carried Yuuki's fragrance. The black chess piece was soon placed back in its rightful spot on the board, and the vampire reached out to pick up the slip again. Every word had already been committed to memory, words that he had already grown close to expecting…

His careful fingertips opened up the note as he scanned over the hand-written words across the page.

_'__Onii-san_

_I can't stop… The blood scent has been taunting me for months… years… I can't stop killing… The lust for blood, for pureblood blood, has been controlling me ever since you turned me into my true form._

_It has eaten me alive like a demon…_

_I took control of your body to feed this desire for blood and I'm afraid that soon, someone will discover that I am responsible for these murders…_

_But I cannot be imprisoned. I refuse to be._

_The darkness of my past has turned me into something I cannot live to see, and I will end this beast before it can take control and destroy the others._

_I wish that I can apologize for my sins, but I cannot… I still lust the purest blood of blood, and I cannot face you without risking your life, if not certain demise. I hope you can one day forgive me… Onii-san…_

_-Yuuki'_

…The note soon found its place inside the trash can, where it had been destined to go the moment that her precious hand started to write the words. As if she couldn't control the thirst… Every vampire knew how to control it since they were simply children…

But maybe it was doomed to happen… Yuuki had always been a reckless soul. Her heart was full of deception… Maybe it was why she had chosen to ignore Zero's failing condition for years, and left the hunter to stay with him… During that year, Kaname soon found that Yuuki's perfect shell had been hiding a dark secret.

She had thirsted for power…

The 'studying' that she had been doing for years hadn't been what he had intended for her to study… One look through the books that she had stacked in the corner of her room was enough of a hint. She had instead been researching the abilities of purebloods… and the ways that the purebloods can extend their powers.

If only he could have stopped her decent, but it had been no use… She ruined her fate the moment that the desire for power was shoved into her body. Maybe if he hadn't been forced to turn her into her true form, then she might have been spared…

A soft knock on the door disturbed his darkening thoughts as the pureblood lifted his head from looking into the waste basket and towards the door. "…Lord Kaname? May I speak to you?" Takuma's soft voice came from the other side of the door. He had come to speak to him about his sibling's death…

Kaname took in a breath and scented the blood that came from the other side of the door. Takuma was wounded… And by the growing smell of blood that started to flow through the dorms, the others had been wounded as well. Zero would not have gone down without a fight…

"Come in, Takuma," Kaname's smooth voice slid from his lips as he turned to his chair and slid himself inside. His ruby eyes scanned over his chessboard, staring down at the white queen pieces that were still scattered across the board.

His second in command was hesitant to open the door, and for good reason. It wouldn't be easy to tell an unsuspecting pureblood that his sister, and also his fiancé, had been murdered. Takuma peered inside and shifted himself slowly into the room while his hand clutched his arm, probably on one of the wounds.

"…Lord Kaname, I'm afraid that… Well, there is no easy way to say this…" Takuma began, nearly fumbling over his words as he searched to find the easiest way to tell Kaname before his attention came to an empty glass that sat on his leader's desk.

Taking the opportunity to evade the subject, the young vampire stepped to the desk and started to take a packet of blood tablets from his pocket. "May I refill your glass, Lord Kaname?" he asked, a slight smile crossing his face, but Kaname could already tell that it was only a façade.

Willing to humor Takuma, and also to see just how long it would take for him to finally gain the courage to tell him Yuuki's fate, Kaname wordlessly picked up the glass and held it out for his second in command to take. The vampire took it graciously, relief crossing his face that he could avoid the subject for a few more moments, and took it over to the few bottles of water that Kaname always had for his blood tablets.

Kaname looked down at the pieces of the white queen scattered across the board and absentmindedly flicked a piece away. "…What was it that you wished to tell me, Takuma?" he asked, his voice remaining calm as he hid his amusement well. Takuma was just so afraid... It was engrossing to watch his reaction to something that Kaname already knew.

The glass nearly slipped from his hand before Takuma managed to catch it, forcing himself to swallow his fear. He uncorked a bottle of water and started pouring it into the cup, then dropped a tablet into the liquid. "…Lord Kaname, I'm afraid that there has… been an incident involving Yuuki and Zero."

"What sort of incident?" Kaname prompted as he flicked another piece of the destroyed queen off of his chessboard.

"U-um…" Takuma stuttered as his hand quivered while holding the glass, nearly letting the precious droplets of the water splash out of the glass. Then the vampire seemed to sink into defeat that there was just no way of avoiding the casualty… He stepped over to Kaname's desk, a little glumly this time, and set the glass in front of the chessboard.

The emerald eyes soon looked straight into Kaname's as he forced in a deep breath before finally uttering, "…Yuuki has been murdered by Zero."

At first, Kaname wondered if he should play off some misery on his face… To make it seem like the death of his perfect sister was that traumatic. But there was no hiding the truth that Yuuki had not been as perfect as she seemed… "…And?" he bluntly stated without blinking, quietly leaning back in his chair as he awaited more news.

There was a stunned silence from Takuma, as if he was awaiting for the news to finally sink into his leader, but when Kaname's face didn't change from the calm arrangement, it was his turn to be shocked. "…L-Lord Kaname, Yuuki is dead…! And Zero, that hunter, murdered her!" he repeated to try to make Kaname understand the meaning of his words.

The pureblood only slid up from his seat and approached the waste basket that rested beside his desk, reaching down and plucking Yuuki's letter from the bottom of the basket. "I am very aware of that, Takuma… But I'm afraid that you do not understand everything." The still-cleanly folded letter was soon held out to the vampire, and he watched as Takuma took it from his hand and began to read…


	4. Waking Up

Chapter 3

_Zero's amethyst eyes flashed open _in a sudden start, wild and confused. He forced in a breath, only to have crimson blood spill out instead of air. The wounded hunter coughed, wracking his lungs to clear from the fluid while he fought to control his senses.

Pain exploded through his chest, a deep throbbing pain that seemed to have no end. His hand grasped his chest, desperately trying to find the source before his fingers slipped into a large hole in his chest. The edges were round… a bullet wound.

…But… Shouldn't he be dead?

Another rush of blood flowed from his lips, splattering onto the soaked forest floor underneath him, and soon started to spread with the rain that continued to pour from the heavens. Zero panted to try to force air into his lungs before he finally lifted his head to see just where he was…

Still in the clearing, right where he had fallen and where he had hoped to die. A pool of blood stretched out underneath him, starting to drain into the dirt while the rest was flowing down like streams through the soaked grass. He struggled to pull himself up, but each of his limbs ached more than hell… It felt like each of his limbs had been sawed off, chewed up, then sewed back on with a dirty needle.

Zero's teeth grinded together as he forced himself up into a sitting position, trying to shake away the disorientation. His hand searched farther through his chest before his fingers soon slipped into the slash in his chest, his fingertips disappearing into the deep warm and felt the strings of muscle just underneath the skin.

His hand snapped away as he watched the glistening blood slide down his fingers. The rain droplets splashed against the blood in an attempt to wash away the crimson liquid. Zero shouldn't have survived with losing this much blood… Even if vampire blood did run through his veins.

Someone must have pulled him away from death's door… But who? The vampires would much rather claw their own eyes out than to help him, and they had been all too happy to leave for dead… After murdering a pureblood, the possibility of someone saving him from his wounds was slim to none. So why would someone have saved him, and who?

Zero knew that he wouldn't gain any answers here, lying on the forest floor. If anything, the chilling rain that poured from the skies only made things worse for the wounded hunter. He pulled himself up to his feet… before the pain nearly blasted him back down. His legs nearly buckled underneath him as he forced himself to grasp onto a tree for support.

The blood-covered claws scratched into the tree, leaving long scars into the bark, while his other hand grasped at the ripped clothing on his chest. The pain was flooding from his chest… and one place in particular.

That bullet was still in his body… He could feel it, wedges dangerously in between his ribs and his heart. Every beat nudged against the bullet, and Zero realized that the bullet could tear through the delicate tissues and probably kill him at any moment.

The claws ripped through the torn shirt before he bashed his fist straight into the tree, feeling the tree vibrate just slightly under his hand from the force. There was a ticking time bomb in his chest that could go off at any moment. But he had more worries than just the bullet…

The shards of ice that had been thrust through his stomach and arm remained, still dripping with the hunter's blood. If he removed them, then there would be nothing to stop the torrent of blood, ending his life. It would kill him in moments… Meaning there was nothing he could do with the sharpened ice spikes.

The wounded man eventually lifted his gaze to see if there was a living creature anywhere in the desolate forest. All he saw was his gun, still lying in the pool of his blood while the rain beat against the steel barrel. He stooped down to pick up the weapon, gazing down at his bloody reflection in the steel.

Amethyst eyes stared back at him, devoid of life.

…Amethyst eyes…

The realization shot through him like another bullet and at first he tried to shove the thought away, but…

It had to be.

Ichiru.

-With the way that these chapters are split up, this one is unfortunately short Dx next one is coming up in a few minutes though! I was super lazy in getting these put up once they were done ;-;-


	5. Blood on his Hands

Chapter 4

_Kaname's steps lead him outside _his room as he left Takuma to review the note that had been left on his desk. He could taste the blood in the air, and as he only saw one pair of droplets leading through the hallway, the pureblood soon came to the conclusion that the others were nursing their wounds in the common rooms.

His ruby eyes scanned the hallways without a window to be seen… The aristocrat mansion seemed to be dulling in its brilliance day by day. Sometimes he wished he could return to his own home… But he feared the memories would linger for far too long in that home, taking him back to times he wished not to remember.

He trusted that Takuma was not going to give the secret to the reason of Yuuki's demise to anyone… Let them believe that Yuuki had been the precious, young spirit that had been taken away far too quick. It was going to be far too much to ask for if he asked for them to believe the truth…

Now he could hear the voices. They were murmuring about how Lord Kaname's reaction will be, and who would have to go back to dispose of Zero's ashes… Kaname's body stiffened at their words. What had they done to Zero…?

And without his orders as well?

The regal steps soon led him to the grand staircase, and all the voices soon hushed into an eerie silence at his presence. His gaze swept across the members of the Moon dorms, and each seemed to be carrying their own aching wounds… Akatsuki and Aidou were working to stop the bleeding in one of Ruka's wounds, an arm room that persisted in stopping the bloodshed. Shiki was quietly wrapping bandages around Rima's hand and wrist, but she said nothing in return. But soon, all of their gazes were fixed back up at him.

Kaname had no reason to ask what had happened… Judging by the grating wounds and the ripped clothing on each of their bodies, it was obvious that Zero's thorns had been the culprit. The metallic thorns were extremely dangerous to a vampire, and even their tougher skin was nothing to keep themselves from becoming wounded to the thorns.

"…Lord Kaname," was their soft greeting, and each had a look of hesitance on their face with not knowing if their leader knew the fate of his fiancé. The smell of their blood was overwhelming and clouded the rest of the senses easily… But he searched for just one scent in particular.

"…Where is he," he softly asked as his steps soon began to guide him down the long staircase to approach the night class members.

Each looked at in each other, probably with each of them regretful to not bring Zero back for Kaname to have the final blow, but he couldn't help but wonder just they had done with the hunter…

Eventually, Aidou moved up to his feet while Akatsuki took over on trying to stop the bleeding of Ruka's wound. There were soft splatters of blood across his cheek and a few droplets scattered over his once-white uniform… They did not carry Aidou's scent.

The vampire approached him cautiously, but there was a faint glimmer of pride in his eyes. "Lord Kaname… After we had seen what he had done to Yuuki-sama, we…" His words hesitated as he looked back to the others for any form of support, but there was none. As he bit back a bitter sigh, Aidou looked back to his leader and finished his words…

"…we executed him."

_Crack._

A long spider-web crack split through the wall just behind Kaname, but his eyes remained focused on Aidou. Fear flashed through the ice blue eyes as he recoiled away as if he had been slapped before stepping back quickly to Akatsuki and Ruka.

The vampires fell into silence as they waited for their leader's next reaction, but… he had none. The pureblood instead walked across the common room floor, approaching the door. It would be impossible to kill Zero that easily… With the mixture of pureblood blood that flooded through his veins, he wouldn't be surprised if he were still lying there… bleeding, dying…

"Lord Kaname, what are you doing?" Aidou's voice echoed in his ears as well as the sound of his feet against the floor as he rushed up to catch his leader. "He might still be alive and I don't want him to try to attack you!"

So there was a chance that Zero was still alive… Even if it was a slim, there was at least still a chance… Words hung on Kaname's lips as he thought about how to respond before he turned back to face his subjects.

"…I gave no orders to kill Zero. If I wished for him to be killed, I will do it myself. If I decided to spare his life, then that is my choice as well." His words stunned the vampires, and he watched as the color drained out of their faces. None of them would be able to believe his words, and none of them would receive the meaning.

Zero's life was in his hands, and no one else's. He had much more planned for the man's life, and that did not include letting his subjects slaughter him like a pig.

"…No one is allowed to follow. Stay out of this," the pureblood muttered as he turned away from the shocked faces and towards the door. Kaname didn't take a moment longer as he pressed his hand against the door and opened it, hearing the rain pounding into the ground just outside.

Thunder loomed off in the distance, and a flash now and then gave the sign that the storm was getting worse. Zero was out in this storm, alone… If the wounds he had suffered weren't enough to destroy the hunter, the cold would finish him off.

But as he strained to breathe in the scent of the hunter's blood, he found that the scent was fading… The rain was already disguising the scent, washing it away, and leaving nothing behind but a quickly disappearing scent and a few stubborn stains in the dirt. He might not be able to catch the hunter in time at this rate…

No vampire will follow him, and none would disobey his direct orders. No vampire would care to help Zero anyway… Zero had murdered a pureblood, and his sister at that. Even if there were a reason for the sin, the others would rather spit in the hunter's throbbing wounds than lend a hand. After all, Zero was also one of the most hated species.

A vampire hunter.

The rain poured down from the heavens, the same as it has done on the same day ever since the two had been born. Kaname knew that the king could no longer rule alone… It would lead to his death. The pawn was needed now more than ever to protect him.

Kaname's steps sloshed in the mud, following the disappearing trail of blood to see if he could begin to right the sin of their forbidden birth.


	6. Graveyard

Chapter 5

_Hands clenched onto a stone to_ steady the hunter, trying to catch his breath while blood dripped free from his pale lips. Zero's heart pounded in his chest, sending spasms of pain through every inch of his body. He couldn't remember the last time he had been in such agony… The thirst for blood wasn't ever this painful.

Zero ground his teeth together in an attempt to force but the pain but it only seemed to get worse. The nails clawed into the stone, leaving deep scars across the surface, before he forced himself forward. Rain soaked onto his body, nearly dragging him down, yet he continued to move.

He could see the graves now… Where he had laid his brother to rest. Zero remembered the funeral of one as if it had happened merely hours ago, as well as the funeral for his parents… He remembered the heart-wrenching pain when he watched his parents' disappearing coffins as they were lowered into the ground and covered from his sight…

The pain had tripled when he buried his own half beside them.

As he gripped onto a gravestone to support himself, his other hand clawed into his chest. There was no way of knowing whether each beat of his straining heart would be his last… Blood dribbled onto the ground from the cuts that laced his body, yet his eyes remained focused on the graves ahead of him.

He staggered and felt his breath coming in soft pants. Zero was losing far too much blood… He could feel it now more than ever. The world swayed around him, darkening and blurring as he fought for balance through his pace.

A few short steps away, his legs buckled underneath him as they lost the strength to carry him any longer. His body collapsed in the dirt and the blood was already beginning to spread out underneath him. The ice shard implanted in his stomach was shoved deeper into his body, nearly spiking through the other side of his skin, increasing the pain tremendously. Zero sucked in a pained breath, before letting it out along with a few drops of blood.

The hunter forced his gaze up, searching for the reason of his struggles before his eyes locked on the gray, small headstone.

As the strength drained from his body, he lifted up his trembling hand and let his fingertips brush against the words on the stone… 'Ichiru Kiryuu'.

…He made it. The smallest smile touched his face, slightly hidden by the blood and mud. Using whatever strength remained in his body, he pulled himself onto the stone grave, even as his warm blood spilled onto the pale-gray stone. The hunter rested his cheek against the headstone and closed his eyes…

"…Ichiru, are you there?" he murmured, his voice nearly lost in the whirling wind and the pouring rain yet he strained to listen for any sign of life… No response.

Zero's breath staggered before his words choked themselves free. "…I miss you, Ichiru. You can't imagine… how much it hurts to know you won't come back… But…" he pulled in a breath into his aching lungs, only to cough up a few more mouthfuls of blood in return. "…I know you saved me, but I don't understand why."

Once again, Zero listened through the pouring rain for a sign of life… He could hear the pounding in his ears, the sound of his own blood dripping onto the stone, but… there was no voice. …Maybe he was truly gone. "…Are you in heaven with Mom and Dad?" he asked his brother's grave as his fingertips stroked the smooth headstone.

Yet again, there was no response… He was as silent as the grave, even as he knew that his brother's body rested just underneath him. "…Maybe… It's my turn to go with you. We… don't have to be apart any longer…"

A sudden coughing fit wracked his lungs, spewing out more and more blood. His sides heaved with Zero's attempts to suck in some air. Tears rushed down his cheeks, yet this time, the tears were red with blood. The scent of the crimson liquid was so thick that it drained out all the other scents…

The blood would soon start to attract predators, mainly the vampires that he had been hunting all of his life. It was almost… fitting that the species he had lived to destroy were now going to be the cause of his demise. Yet, he didn't care for what happened to his body while knowing that his brother's body may only be a few bones.

Over and over, Zero's bloody fingers traced the letters, feeling each of the inscriptions in turn…

'I-C-H-I-R-U'

Zero nearly wished that he didn't have to die this way, because of a wound created by those vampires… but he couldn't choose his death. Instead, he let his blood stain his brother's grave while the world slowly slipped from his grasp…

"…Zero."

The deep voice roused him from his sinking health, and his amethyst eyes flashed open. Was Ichiru finally going to take him home? His gaze snapped up to see just who had approached him… before he saw the tall man looming over him, ruby eyes illuminating in the soft darkness. …Kuran. Zero's hand fell from the grave in bitter disappointment.

"…G-get out of here, pureblood," Zero attempted to snarl at the pureblood and tried to raise up his body to confront the pureblood, but it soon slumped back down on the stone grave with a soft grunt.

Kaname said nothing as he simply stared down at Zero with that eerily calm gaze… Was the pureblood going to finish off the wounded hunter himself? It didn't surprise Zero to think that the pureblood would much rather have the glory of killing one of the most powerful hunters for himself… Yet he still didn't speak, nor did he move.

The amethyst eyes tightened with impatience. Was Kaname going to wait until he bled himself out first? Prolong his suffering? Zero's lips parted to force out another hiss but a torrent of blood rushed out instead, coating the gray stone with the crimson death streaks.

The pureblood soon crouched down beside the hunter, his ruby eyes surveying the pooling blood that covered the grave in his silence. Zero's claws twitched with the urge to cut into the pureblood's flesh, but he was far from being able to touch him…

"…You are lucky to be alive, much less able to drag yourself all the way here," he spoke as his fingers touched the warm blood, letting it stain his 'perfect' skin. A gurgling hiss came from Zero, unable to form words any longer. The ruby eyes flicked to his face in a heartbeat, as if contemplating if the hunter was even a threat. Zero tensed under the gaze, knowing that the sight of his nearly lifeless body would probably bring the pureblood joy…

But what he hadn't expected was the light frown on the pureblood's face as he soon spotted the bullet wound in his chest, still flooding out blood and allowing it to collect on the gravestone. "…Why would you go through this trouble just so simply destroy Yuuki?" Kaname asked softly, his carefully calculated voice nearly too gentle for Zero's comfort.

All Zero could do was let out a soft snort of discontent before he soon started to struggle his way to sit up. Kaname was just wasting time… If he was so certain on revenging his sister and fiancé, then he should have done so already… Waiting for the hunter to die was not getting the pureblood anywhere.

"…I should destroy you, hunter. You murdered a pureblood, and you murdered my fiancé. There shouldn't be a punishment too harsh for you…" Kaname murmured as his fingers drifted through the blood, letting it collect on his fingertips. The calm ruby eyes remained on Zero as he watched the blood trickle slowly down his wounded chest…

Zero's vision flickered as he spoke, drifting into darkness before the entire world turned black for what seemed like a moment… Then he managed to pull himself back up into consciousness but only to realize that he had collapsed back down onto Ichiru's grave and Kaname was starting to move his arms around his lean body. The hunter stiffened in his arms before trying to struggle out of his grip.

"…D-don't touch me…" he gurgled as his eyes hardened with hatred, but Kaname took no notice. He would regret not listening to the dying hunter… Just as Kaname lifted up the hunter, Zero let out a gurgling snarl and sank his claws into his chest. Warm blood gushed around the claws, staining the white uniform. "L-let me go!"

The arms only tightened around his weary body, even as Zero's claws cut deeper. Then he felt a soft throbbing just beside his claws… It was Kaname's heart, pulsing just barely away from his claws. If he could just cut a little deeper… He might be able to grasp the heart and tear it out. Even if it didn't kill the pureblood, it would make sure that Kaname would simply leave him to die.

Yet Kaname's heart didn't race with fear at the possibility of death. His eyes instead stared down at the bloodstained grave, as if a thought was distracting him from Zero's claws. "…Are you that eager to die that you're willing to destroy two purebloods in one day to obtain it?" he asked calmly even as his blood began to crawl down the white uniform, staining it even farther.

His claws only wrenched their way in farther, trying desperately to wrap around the beating heart to tear it. Kaname only wished to kill him anyway… What harm was it to take the pureblood's life with him? "…W-why do you care…" he retched out just as he felt the blood starting to rise up his throat again, this time slower than the last. There wasn't much longer before he would be dead… Then he could be with Ichiru… and Mom and Dad… He could be home…

"…Because you could have quite possibly saved my life, Zero."


End file.
